Penn State will hold it's opener against the mighty Golden Panthers of FIU in a scant 90 days. Because we are only 13 weeks or so away from the start of the season I need to start breaking down PSU's opponents. The only place to begin is at the beginning.
The Golden Panthers had a dismal 2006 season going 0-12 in the ever-competitive Sun-Belt Conference. There is little reason to think that the Panthers will be able to improve on that mark this year. I'll try to break down the turd which is the 2007 Golden Panthers below (binge on FIU stats yourself here):
Passing:
Josh Padrick graduated after an awful senior season in which he completed 213 of 388 passes but had 14 INTs compared to only 5 TD tosses. True Sophomore Paul McCall will take the reigns of this high-powered juggernaut in 2007. McCall saw limited action last year only throwing 18 passes which included 1 INT and ZERO TDs. To make matters worse, the two best receivers on last years team also graduated (Williams and Smith) leaving an inexperienced QB with even less experienced receivers. There is no way the FIU passing game will be anything but dreadful in 2007.
Rushing:
If FIU is to have any respectability at all it will have to be on the shoulders of their experienced RB tandem in Ned and Reams who combined for 770 yards last year. Ned is the more explosive of the two averaging 5.1 yds/carry but it is clear that Reams will still play a large role in 2007 as he actually carried the ball 10 more times in 2006 than Ned did. The FIU rushing attack will be serviceable but they won't rush for more than 80 yards against a stingy Penn State Defense.
Defense:
The Defense was, well, terrible. They gave up 313 points in 12 games in the SUN-BELT! This averages out to 26 pts/game, porous at best. Against PSU's experienced passing game and the explosiveness of Austin Scott they will be generally outclassed.
Prediction:
0-0 will be the only time FIU is in sniffing distance of the Nittany Lions. PSU's offense will show it's quick strike ability, this will be the only thing preventing the FIU defense from being on the field the entire day. Penn State will cause 4 FIU turnovers and probably score a TD off of one. The offense will show no mercy as it needs the experience to prepare for ND the next week.
Final Score:
PSU: 48
FIU: 6
Don't forget this either. Very Classy!
GO STATE! GET FIRED UP FOR THE FALL!
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9 comments:
With exception of you somehow not being able to get rid of the old white lettering of the blog title, your new header is classy, informative and very well-designed.
I agree.
Aside for your problem with division :) I would expect the game to be a challenge for FIU.
They gave up 313 points in 12 games in the SUN-BELT! This averages out to 26 pts/game
I believe they will have a different QB also. Either a RS Freshman or a True Freshman.
Whichever QB they have, they only scheduled the game for the $$$ to help budget their (new 5 year old) football program.
To the author of this mess....
You obviously have no clue about what is happening at FIU.
First of all, we did not have 12 games against SunBelt opponents. We also played teams from the ACC, SEC, Big East, and the MAC. Our defense also finished 28th overalll in the country, with finishes in the top 5 in 4 other categories. Penn State's defense finished 15th in the nation with no other top 10 finishes.
The Nittany Lions gave up 284.46 yards per game. FIU allowed 300.92. Very little difference there.
Lionel Singleton, who does return for us this fall, finished 4th in the nation in passes defended and 3rd in the nation in kickoff returns (29.50 yards per return).
Yes, our offense struggled last season. But your account of what will be happening this fall is off target. Perhaps you should be paying attention to all published reports about what took place in the spring and what has been happening since.
Yes, Penn State will probably beat us. However, I doubt very seriously it will be the blowout you predict. But remember this....if we lose, it is no big deal because it was expected by most. But if we win, Penn State will be the laughing stock of the NCAA.
I will see you at Beaver Stadium on September 1.
Signed,
PROUD FIU MOM
I know loyalty plays a big role and so does team spirit. FIU mom, do you really think a team that went 0-12 and graduated almost all of the good defensive players has a chance of beating PSU? I know what your answer will be. You'll comeback with some nice answer somehow saying yes.
This is a PSU forum, and just like the forum FIU uses to post messages, they are entitled to pretty much post what they choose.
Its funny you worded your conclusion the way you did. Instead of saying "But if we win, FIU will rise to national attention and get the recognition they deserve" you said "But if we win, Penn State will be the laughing stock of the NCAA". That shows what YOU think about FIU. Not much.
Penn State 40
FIU 6
The Bottom line is, FIU is not in Penn State's class. I understand why they scheduled the game as it is the kind of game you need to schedule to build a program. But FIU simply will not win.
If you think Joe will let the players look past FIU to Notre Dame then you clearly have not paid any attention to Joe Paterno....ever.
Yes, I did say "if we win." However, I also said "if we lose." If you are going to quote me, make sure you quote me completely.
I have all the confidence in the world in my son and his teammates. Do they have the deep history of Penn State? No. Do they have the storied past of Joe Paterno? No. But please keep in mind, that even Penn State and the great Joe Pa had to start somewhere. This will be only our sixth year of football. We are only beginning our journey. Nothing is expected from us. Nothing is demanded by the media. But we are demanding from ourselves. That's why the former staff was cleared out and a crew of fresh, energetic men have been brought in to lead our guys out of the depths of infancy.
You will know just who we are on September 1. And you will never forget us.
Oh, and just for the record....
Do I think we have a chance of beating Penn State? HELL YES!!
Signed,
PROUD FIU MOM
"If you are going to quote me, make sure you quote me completely."
Not sure why that would be necessary. You did say "if we lose", yes, thats not the part I thought was so interesting because we know you'll lose and yes, everyone expects you to. So why quote you on it. I just thought it was interesting that your view is that Penn State would be considered the laughing stock instead of FIU being considered good. Kind of the glass half full/half empty. Which is yours?
We'll talk on Sept 2.
I'm a Christian Ms, "yes" would have been good enough.
"First of all, we did not have 12 games against SunBelt opponents. We also played teams from the ACC, SEC, Big East, and the MAC. Our defense also finished 28th overalll in the country, with finishes in the top 5 in 4 other categories. Penn State's defense finished 15th in the nation with no other top 10 finishes."
Reply: Mom, your support is to be commended. That said, FIU's Strength (or weakness) of Schedule - 101 out of 119 teams - played a big part in FIU's #28 defense ranking. Conversly, Penn State had the 24th toughest schedule last year and this gives our #15 ranking a bit more credibility, wouldn't you say? And speaking of the FIU defense, Phil Steele reports FIU lost 5 of its 6 leading tacklers to graduation. Is this correct? If yes, last year's accomplishments probably aren't even worth discussing.
Finally, I would like to point out having a high number of "passes defensed" isn't necessarily a good thing since it means opposing Coordinators don't have enough respect to throw away from the DB.
In any case, I hope you thoroughly enjoy your trip to Happy Valley. Good luck!
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